


Amriya Sayre and the Prophetic Dreams

by AthenaatheFAYZ



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), POV Original Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-07 15:50:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11626806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AthenaatheFAYZ/pseuds/AthenaatheFAYZ
Summary: What if Lily's love charm hadn't been enough? What if both the Potter's and Voldemort had died that night in Godric's Hollow? This series follows five girls that although they come from very different backgrounds, might have more in common than they think. What happens when a Metamorphmagi, a Legillimens,a Seer and two people whose past they'd rather forget become friends?This may not be the story you remember.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic in a while, keep that in mind, grammar and spelling mistakes will probably occur. XD

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just the prologue.

Prologue – Dumbledore’s Office  
“I do believe this will make for an interesting year, Minerva.” Dumbledore stated before unwrapping a sherbet lemon, one of his new favourite muggle sweets. Minerva McGonagall was sat opposite him, eyeing him warily through her square glasses.   
“Are you quite sure we can accommodate for four specialised cases, Albus? Two of them don’t even know they’re witches! Surely the Sayre girl ought to go to Ilvermony at least; it was her ancestor that built the school. They will probably love to have her.” She proposed, although why she bothered she didn’t quite know. She knew what the Headmaster would say, and judging from his kindly half-smile he knew it as well.  
“All four of the girl’s names have been down on the register since they were children, Minerva. I don’t doubt that Miss Sayre would indeed receive special treatment from the teachers at Ilvermony as a testimony of respect to Isolt, but really, is that what a young girl needs as such a young age? I think not. No, all four of them will be attending this year Minerva, my dear. Now would you care for a sherbet lemon?”  
McGonagall shook her head briskly and asked who would be making the home visit to the girls who did not yet know of their magical blood. Dumbledore stared at McGonagall for a moment before answering.  
“I thought it best if it be I,”  
“For both of them?”  
“Why such surprise Minerva? Both girls come from surprising backgrounds, I did the same for Remus Lupin before he attended, I see no reason for anyone else to go in this situation.”  
“I understand for the Sayre girl, giving her family’s probable reluctance to her going, but why the other? Miss…what are we calling her again? Her given name is Marlowe Cutter, but on the register it wrote Marlowe Gaunt…surely there’s been a mistake? You don’t expect me to believe that Merope Gaunt had another child?”  
“Not at all, and I think it’s rather straightforward to say that Morfin never fathered any children,” Dumbledore answered, his eyes glittering with amusement at McGonagall’s confusion.  
“Well how can she be a Gaunt then?”  
“If I am to understand correctly then Marvolo had a brother, and given the Gaunt’s financial situation and his obsession to inherit the remaining Slytherin heirlooms, he decided that having a brother would not be beneficial to him, and poisoned him in his sleep and tried to cover up the brothers’ very existence. What I believe Marvolo did not know was this his brother was just as deceitful as he was, and had started a family with another in secret, one that no doubt missed him once he had passed but thankfully had the sense to keep quiet. The family seems to have stuck to only having one child per generation, but keeping the name as Gaunt and staying away from the magical community. Alas, it was not to be, however. There were still some that knew of the family’s existence but tolerated it, seeing as they held not threat and kept themselves well hidden; until it seems Marlowe’s father fell in love with a muggle and had a child. It seems that whoever had been keeping an eye on the remaining Gaunt lineage took great offense the ‘tainting’ of the blood line and saw to it that the parents were wiped out.”  
“Well then how did the girl escape? Surely whoever killed her parents did not suddenly grow merciful?”  
“You were right, it seems. The battle caught the attention of a nearby Auror. He was not able to save the parents but he captured the killers and rescued the young infant. However, it appeared to Alastair that the child held no magical ability and took after her mother. Believing this too be the case, he took her to a muggle law centre where she was put into care. The girl has had two homes; the first ended badly but the second, the Cutters, seem to have taken a shine to the girl and has made her one of their own. I have a feeling that the girl will not take the news of her magical inheritance well, and so I feel I must go.” Dumbledore explained calmly. McGonagall did not answer for a few minutes, no doubt trying to collect her thoughts. This will certainly be an interesting few years she thought dryly. A Gaunt, a supposed Seer, a Legillimens and a Metamorphmagi. They’ll either be the best of friends, or the worst of enemies.


	2. Introductions on the train

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The main characters become acquainted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a combination of staying up until three AM and having an hour to finish the rest, so it's a bit rushed and NOT my best. If you guys don't like it I'll redraft otherwise it's fine. It's just an intro chapter, so yeah.

Chapter 1- Introductions on the Train.  
  
The room was small and smelt of ink. The absence of sound was so strange it was almost painful. She was positioned on the floor, body down with her face to the side. The walls and flooring seemed to be from grey stone. There was a man looking down at her. He was middle-aged with a receding hairline and watery green eyes. He was dressed in long black robes that concealed the rest of his body. He was sat on a chair, watching her intently; she wondered if he was waiting for her to do something, or if he wished her to do so, but it didn’t matter. She couldn’t move, could only watch as the man’s eyes flitted above her. She could only watch as the pupils’ delated a split second before the green flash of light hit him in the chest. The light in the man’s eyes went out, his body sinking to the floor.  
  
A young girl, fair haired came from behind her, looking around in search of something. Presumably not seeing what she wanted she wheeled around to look at her, eyes of panic looking down at her. Another girl of roughly the same age can be seen, looking at her with a strange look of confusion and slow understanding in her grey eyes. The blond girl kneels beside her and lifts her stiff body from the floor and sits her on the dead man’s chair. Was she to be interrogated? For what, she knew not who she was or anything about where she was.  
  
From this new angle she watches as another two girls storm into the already crowded room. The leader with a pale face and strange eyes lit up with rage. She stops a few steps before her and raises her arm, a thin piece of black wood between her fingers. As the hand begins the descent sound finally kicks in. The girls’ breath seemed to be roars, but out of the corner of her eye she could see the grey eyed girl’s mouth move, her voice cutting into everything around her. “No! Don’t! You don’t understand she-“ The girl never hears the rest of the sentence as a flash of light consumes her.   
  
**   
  
Marlowe Cutter bit into her thumbnail again. She tried to distract herself with whatever game her brother was playing but it didn’t help. The thoughts kept creeping into her head, she knew they weren’t real but she couldn’t help it. She’d finally found a place-no, a home that accepted her and now she was supposed to leave that home and go to some magical school? When the old man, Dumbledore, she had to keep remind herself, had come to tell her that she was really a witch it didn’t come as much of a surprise. She’d always been strange, and after her last home, they’d made sure she knew that the things she could do were unnatural. The Cutter’s didn’t mean to mind so much. Helen, her new guardian smiled warmly when Marlowe had told her about the things she could do but she hadn’t believed her until Dumbledore had confirmed it. The twins did though, after some practise she realised that she could move things if she concentrated long enough. At first they thought it was a trick, and by the time they had realised it wasn’t they had already decided that their new sibling wasn’t dangerous, and if they kept it quiet from their parents, the three of them could get away with a lot of things. Marlowe knew that Connor and Abbey only wanted her around for her magic but she didn’t mind, she’d do what she could as long as she could stay with them. Of course that changed when Dumbledore had told Nick and Helen. They were scared at first, of course, but after Dumbledore had had a conversation with them they seemed ok, a bit weary, but not going to send her back into care.   
  
The trip to Diagon Alley had been interesting enough, Dumbledore had told her that she her birth name was Marlowe Gaunt, and that although the Gaunt’s were an old wizarding family they had were all believed to be dead, and that unfortunately there was nothing left but the name, no inheritance or heirlooms to be given. Instead Nick had taken the three of them to the wizarding bank known as Gringgotts and changed money. They managed to get everything needed on the list that came with her acceptance letter; both the twins and Marlowe agreed that getting her wand was the most interesting bit of the day. She had to try a load of wands before the old man found one that responded to her. She had started to believe that maybe there wouldn’t be a wand for her; that her magic would be too chaotic to channel but when the ebony wand touched her fingers it felt...right. With a flick of her wand sparks came spitting out of the end in a flurry of red and blue sparks.   
  
A few weeks later they were all in the family car on the way to London. All of her new belongings stuffed into a trunk, ready to be used. The twins were beside her, Abby resting on her shoulder whilst Connor played his new game. A hand pulled hers away from her mouth.   
  
“Stop it Mar, you’ve bitten too hard again. You’re bleeding.” Abby told her sleepily, wiping the blood away. Marlowe smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, just...nervous.”   
  
“Well, you’ve read all the textbooks and that old guy said that there would be loads like you, people who didn’t know they were magical. I know it’s not exactly the same but you’ve just got new school jitters, that’s all.” Marlowe scoffed and shrugged. She didn’t agree, but wasn’t going to argue with Abbey, no one ever won an argument with Abbey.   
  
“Besides, it’s not like you’ll be completely alone, even if you don’t make any friends, you’ll have Clara” Connor pointed out bluntly without looking up from his game.   
  
“I suppose so.” Marlowe agreed and looked at the white kitten on her lap. The Cutter’s had a family cat that had given birth to a litter after Marlowe had arrived. She had always preferred animals to people and had taken a shine to one of the baby kittens. She had helped Nick look after them, and the kitten had taken a shine to her as well, so when she was told that cats were allowed at Hogwarts she was overjoyed to have the kitten along with her. Two hours later they had just gotten through to platform nine and three quarters. They had been told how to get through but it was still a challenge to run top speed through a wall, Connor had tripped over when he tried and had to be rescued before being trampled by the various trolleys and people.   
  
“Now this is what I was expecting!” Connor declared, eyes wide with wonder at the big red train.   
  
“Come on Connor, no time for sightseeing. We have to get Marlowe and her stuff on the train before it leaves. No offense sweetheart but the magical street was one thing I still haven’t quite recovered from yet.” Helen told her, squeezing her hand slightly. Nick started to soldier his way through the crowd, looking for a way to get onto the train when Connor pulled on her jacket sleeve.   
  
“Hey, do you know her? She’s been watching you for ages.” Connor asked and pointed through the crowd to a brown haired girl. It was true; the girl was noticeably wide eyed, like she had just seen a ghost.   
  
“Maybe she does know Mar, from when she was a baby. It’s not like you see someone with one eye’s like Mar’s. Let’s go and ask her.” Abbey decided and headed towards the girl. Marlowe tried to protest but Abbey grabbed her by the arm and pulled her with her. The girl seemed shocked and looked like she was going to bolt for a split-second, but decided to stay.   
  
“Hi, I’m Abbey Cutter and my brother noticed that you seemed to recognise my sister here, Marlowe?” Abbey opened with a big smile, shoving Marlowe in front slightly. “Oh, uh hi.” Marlowe mumbled awkwardly. The girl stared at her again for a few seconds before deciding to smile.   
  
“No, sorry I don’t know you but I thought you looked like someone who doesn’t know what the hell they are doing here. Everyone else is dressed weirdly, don’t you think? My names Amriya Sayre, nice to meet you.”   
  
“Does being magical mean you have to have a weird name?” Connor asked with a grin on his face. Abbey elbowed him and pushed him away.   
  
“Don’t mind my brother, he’s an idiot. I’m not going to Hogwarts, but Mar is. I take it this is your first year too? Maybe you two could be friends?” Abbey asked hopefully. Marlowe grumbled something about not needing Abbey to make friends for her but Amriya smiled and shrugged.   
  
“At the very least we can get a train compartment together. Just let me say goodbye to my family then I’ll come and find you. I’ve already put my stuff on the train.”   
  
The three of them found their parents and waited for Amriya to arrive again. Abbey told her parents that she seemed nice; Connor told them she was strange. They were all chastised for running off but Marlowe hardly heard them. Connor had definitely been right; Amriya had recognised her, so why had she said otherwise? It could have been that she had mistaken her for someone else, but how many people had eyes that were blue in one eye and grey in the other?   
  
“You will write to us won’t you? Let us know how you’re getting on? I suppose it will be delivered by owl, but hey that’ll be an interesting start to the day won’t it?” Helen asked whilst making sure that Marlowe had everything. She nodded and told her that she’d right every weekend. Nick made sure she had Clara’s travel cage firmly in hand (from the noise that she was making Clara did not like being in the carrier) when Amriya came over and smiled at them.   
  
“Ready to dive into the craziness that is our life now?” She asked. “I guess,”   
  
**   
  
Darcy always hated going into crowded areas; too many people with too many thoughts whizzing through their heads. Add the new school worries and what was normally a mild buzzing had turned into a full blown headache. Trying to get away from it she had said a quick goodbye to her parents and went to hide on the train. Darcy had the ability to read the thoughts of others, and although she had gotten better at blocking them out, some days it was impossible. A few older years had tried to enter her compartment, and even though she was only a first year she had a gaze that could melt steel. She was just about to let her pet out of the carrier when another two older kids opened the door.   
  
“You can’t si-“ Wait what was that? Normally she blocked out the thoughts of others entirely but with it being so hectic, some thoughts went through, and one of those thoughts was of her. It seemed strange, seeing her face in another’s dreams was disorientating, and the person was too close for it to be her parents.   
  
“You know what? You can have the compartment.” She told them, they had been complaining but she took no notice of what they were saying, instead she grabbed the carrier and shifted her weight to grab her trunk.   
  
Five minutes later she was trailing the train, trying to pinpoint the location. Eventually she tracked it down to one of the compartments near the end of the train. She took a quick glance and gauged that there was only one other in the carriage with the girl. She took a deep breath and opened the door.   
  
One of the girls was fairly average looking, brown haired, brown eyed. The other was smaller, paler in complexion with dark hair and mismatched eyes. It wasn’t her that caught her eye however, it was the first girl. She tried to look unconcerned but she couldn’t stop her thoughts. The girl knew her, at least her face.   
  
“Can I sit here?” Darcy asked bluntly, the brown haired looked at the other who shrugged.   
  
“Yeah sure, are you a first year as well?”   
  
“Yeah, you’re Marlowe and Amriya, right? Unusual names but you both seemed to have been raised by muggles. Oh, I’m Darcy by the way.” She told them as she sat down, pulling her trunk underneath the seat. She saw the familiar look of confusion flash their features, but it surprised Darcy that the normal look of suspicion didn’t replace it. Of course, from their expressions she had been right about the muggle thing.   
  
“Is that a normal thing for witches, because I don’t have that.” The girl named Marlowe asked worriedly.   
  
“No, it’s a rare thing. I’m a Legillimens, which means I was born with the ability to read the thoughts of others.”   
  
“Oh, well, I guess that’s a cool thing to be able to do.” Marlowe answered with a shrug and opened the door on the pet carrier. Out came a small white kitten who glared at her owner before it stretched out on Marlowe’s lap.   
  
“Want to be friends?” Amriya blurted out. Darcy looked at her pointedly.   
  
“You find out I can read minds and you still want to be friends?”   
  
“Why not, I doubt you read minds every second of every day.” Amriya answered. Darcy could see she was hiding something but decided not to press the issue, not yet anyway. Darcy shrugged and leaned back into the seat.   
  
“Sure, something tells me that I won’t be the strangest one in our year.”   
  
**   
  
“You’re worrying again.”   
  
“No I’m not,”   
  
“Really? You might want to tell your hair that.” Her mother answered whilst grabbing her trunk. Lexa looked into the car’s rear-view mirror to see that her hair had gone a bright shade of yellow, not blonde, yellow.   
  
“Damn, hang on.” Lexa told her mother whilst she ducked back into the car and tried to regain her nerves. Changing her hair in the middle of London from yellow to pink might cause a bit of a stir and she didn’t want to be carted off to the Ministry on her very first day.   
  
“Make sure you grab Hana, don’t want to have to apparate to the school on your first day.”   
  
“Sure thing.” Lexa answered and grabbed the pet carrier. She expected Hana to start mewling but to her surprise the kitten was fast asleep amongst the blankets Lexa had put in there. Lexa smiled fondly at the kitten and trailed after her mum, trying her best to keep her emotions under control.   
  
“What if people think I’m a freak?” She asked for the tenth time.   
  
“Even if they do think that, they won’t think it for long. You’ll soon see that everyone can change their appearance if they wish, it just takes a while to learn, that’s all.” Lexa nodded and followed her mother through the barrier onto the platform. This wasn’t the first time she had seen the train, she’d come with her two brothers as well but they had gone on ahead or were making their way with friends, both of them were in their final year. This was, however, the first time that she would actually be going on the train. She wondered if Hogwarts would actually be as wonderful as her brothers described, did the school really have all of those staircases? Lexa looked up to ask her mother whether it was true that first years had to swim the length of the black lake to get to the school for their orientation, when she realised that she had no idea where her mother was.   
  
“Mum? Where are you?” She cried out, the only problem was she was one of hundreds trying to be heard over the din of parents and students. Lexa panicked and started to run, and from the looks she was getting she could tell that her hair was turning bright yellow again. She didn’t have any luck finding her mum, but she did have the luck to crash into someone taller than her.   
  
“Wotcher!” The woman said, managing to steady them both. She took in the sight of a flushed ten year old with changing hair and she grinned.   
  
“Hey, we match!” She stated and Lexa watched as her hair turned a lighter shade of pink than Lexa’s usual. Momentarily stunned, she stared up at the woman with admiration.   
  
“You’re just like me! Well, you can control it better than I can.” Lexa said.   
  
“Well, I’ve had a lot more practise than you, haven’t I? You’ll have lots of fun at Hogwarts, bet you get into all sorts of trouble.” The woman said with a mischievous smile. Lexa remembered her previous fears and looked down.   
  
“I doubt it; everyone will probably think I’m a freak or a thief or something. Who’s going to want to be my friend?”   
  
“I know one person who won’t have a problem with it; she’s been living with me for years. Oi! Lyra, get over here! Oh, I’m Tonks by the way, what’s your name?”   
  
“Uh, Lexa.” She answered. She watched as a blond haired girl around her age walked over to them. Tonks had said they’d lived together but Lexa couldn’t see the family resemblance. The girl, Lyra was it? Took in her hair and whistled in appreciation.   
  
“Damn and I thought my hair was blond. A Metamorphmagi, right? What are the chances, I leave one at home, only to meet another. I’m Lyra Tonks, what’s your name?” The girl asked, stretching out her hand. Lexa smiled at her warmth and shook her hand.   
  
“Lexa Carabell.”   
  
“Hey, you here alone? Where’s your folks, surely you didn’t come here by yourself?” Tonks asked, looking around for Lexa’s parents.   
  
“I didn’t, but I seemed to have lost them. I don’t suppose you’re any good at finding people?” She asked tentatively. Tonks grinned and waggled her eyebrows.   
  
“That,” She said with a grin. “Happens to be one of my specialties.” Whilst they searched for her mum the girls chatted. Lexa realised that Lyra was a very open person who seemed to have a smile for everyone. They heard through whispers and snippets of conversations that there seemed to be a Legillimens on the train, one that had quite a famous name.   
  
Once they’d found her mum, they’d all said their goodbyes and made their way onto the train. “So what’s the plan, where are we going to sit? I don’t suppose you know anyone?” She asked, not wanting to sit with her brothers.   
  
“Well, you were worried about being singled out, right? Well why don’t we see if this Legillimens girl is a real thing. If she is, then you won’t be the strangest person in the year, if she isn’t oh well, we’ll have a place to sit regardless.”   
  
“Alright then.”   
  
**   
  
Finding one person from the Dream seemed to be incredible, but, Amriya thought as the other two girls came and sat down, finding all four of them meant that it wasn’t just a dream. Whatever the Headmaster had said, it wasn’t just a normal dream. Every time she looked at Marlowe her mind went back to the dream, her eyes bright with anger and the flash of light. She hadn’t thought about who the girls were outside of the dream, but it wasn’t what she’d got. Marlowe seemed to be the most timid of the group, hiding in the corner watching them with those eyes that seemed so scared. She’d answer if spoken to but otherwise she just watched, stroking her cat absently.   
  
When the two girls came in asking if they could sit Darcy glared at them but said nothing. Amriya wondered what they’d thought to anger Darcy but guessed that she might want to keep the mind-reading to herself. So Amriya had welcomed the new girls who had introduced themselves as Lexa and Lyra. Marlowe couldn’t help but ask what was wrong with Lexa’s hair, which was slowly turning from bright yellow to a bright pink. Lyra explained that it was another special skill that some people were just born with. The both of them seemed more…normal than the three of them, both were bubbly but Lyra took control, asking each of them questions in turn. Darcy and Marlowe seemed reluctant to answer and gave minimal answers. Amriya noticed Darcy’s side glances at her but avoided her gaze. Amriya wondered just how much Darcy could probe someone’s mind, deep enough to see the Dream? Is that why she came and sought them out? She could ask her mentally of course, but there was no way that Darcy could respond without announcing that Amriya had seen them all in a dream.   
  
“So, is it true that you’re related to Olivander the wand maker?” Lyra asked excitedly. Darcy rolled her eyes and sighed.   
  
“Yes, it’s only the second most interesting thing about me, I’m afraid. I’m not directly related but he is a distant cousin of mine. I’ve had my wand picked out for years, but just not been able to use it. So don’t worry, I’m not ahead of you in anyway.” Darcy answered with a quick glance at Marlowe who nodded her thanks. A loud meow seemed to jolt Darcy who cursed under her breath and pulled a carrier from the floor and undid the clasp. Out crawled a disgruntled spotted ginger cat that took one look at her the door and jumped off to explore the compartment, sniffing everyone’s luggage. This caused everyone else to remember their pets and soon there were four cats; a black tom called Simba, Marlowe’s white kitten called Clara, Darcy’s Cecily and Lexa’s black and white kitten called Hana. They all looked at Lyra with sympathy, who hadn’t had a pet carrier with her.   
  
“What? Oh, I have a pet but it’s not a cat.”   
  
“Oh, an owl then? Is it flying to Hogwarts?” Lexa asked and Darcy tried to hide a snicker. Lyra threw her a glare and reached into her pocket.   
  
“No, and there’s nothing wrong with my pet. I don’t care if they went out of fashion, I love Icky.” She stated defensibly and pulled out a toad. She took a look at the cats roaming around and put him back into her jacket. “Best not, don’t want any of your cats thinking they can toy with him.” She told them and asked Marlowe how being raised by muggle was growing up. Marlowe paled and was about to answer when Darcy asked Lyra what houses her parents were in. Lyra, Lexa and Darcy then started a conversation about the four houses of Hogwarts and which was better than the other. Amriya didn’t miss the grateful look that Marlowe gave Darcy.   
  
Between Darcy and Marlowe, and Darcy and Lyra, this should be an interesting year, Amriya thought to herself.


	3. The Sorting Ceremony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some questions are answered and some more appear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so each girl has a POV in this episode, and some descriptions and speeches are the same as in the first book. This is because the story takes place in the same year as Harry would've been there, so the Hat song and McGonagall's speech would be the same. Other than that, hopefully you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 2- The Sorting Ceremony

As the train continued its journey across the English countryside the girls began to feel more relaxed around each other, the mood was in no small way improved by the appearance of the trolley lady. With her cart filled with various brightly packaged delicacies, all of which Marlowe and Amriya had never seen before, the girls decided to combine what little money their parents had given them each for the train ride to get a few of everything that was on offer. Soon Lexa, Darcy and Marlowe were challenging each other to eat suspicious looking beans from a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans (So far there had been chili, grass, vomit, pepper and bubble-gum) and much to the enjoyment of Lexa and Darcy, Marlowe’s face screwed up in distaste as she spat out the bean she had been chewing, declaring it to be soap flavoured. Amriya and Lyra were comparing Witch and Wizard cards that they had found at the bottom of the Chocolate frog cards (Amriya had almost screamed when a brown frog leapt onto her top) whilst chewing on some liquorice wands.

“Anyone for a cauldron cake?” Lyra asked as she grabbed the packet of cakes. Darcy and Amriya nodded and soon there were crumbs everywhere, much to the annoyance of the four cats.

“Does anyone know what time we’ll get there?” Amriya asked, trying her best to sweep the crumbs into a pile. “Just so we know what time to get into our robes, somehow I don’t think arriving to a wizard school in jeans and trainers would be the best idea.” Lexa said that she would go and ask the driver when Darcy held up her hand to stop her.

“Hang on, I think someone’s already asking him, let me focus for a second.” She asked and closed her eyes. “We should probably go and get ready now; apparently the driver thinks we’ll be there in about twenty minutes.” She declared and started packing the sweets up.

It was lucky that the girls had started to pack up early, since it took ten minutes to get Cecily, Darcy’s cat, back into her pet carrier. It seemed that the Bengal cat still remembered being left to sit in the carrier and had no desire to get back in. After much coaxing, and a few scratches, the kitten was back in her carrier just as the train pulled into Hogsmede station. They were told to leave their luggage on the train and the five girls joined the throngs of students emptying the train. Lexa’s nerves came back to her as she saw the giant man calling out for first years to come to him. Darcy squeezed her hand and smiled at her.

“Deep breaths, try to keep your nerves under control. You won’t be the strangest person that the older kids have seen, and I think the other first years have a bit more to worry about then a girl whose hair turns yellow. Believe me when I say, they feel as nervous as you.”

“Then why don’t you seem nervous?” Lexa asked and Darcy smirked at her.

“Who says I’m not? I can feel how much everyone else is dreading it, so I know I’m not alone. Also, none of the older years seemed concerned with us, so it’s not going to be too terrible. From what I’ve gathered the groundskeeper takes us across the lake in boats so we get our first look at Hogwarts, and then-“

“Has anyone seen Icky?” Lyra asked cutting Darcy off. The girls’ eyes were wide with panic. When everyone shrugged or shook their heads Lyra announced that she was going to search the train, she didn’t want to leave him alone.

“You’re going to be late, you might miss the boats!” Lexa told her. “I’m sure he’ll be fine, if he’s on the train he’ll be brought to your room.”

“I don’t know that and I’m not risking it, you guys go ahead.” Lyra told them and started making her way back to the train. The other four looked at each other worriedly, they didn’t want to leave, but they didn’t want to go with her either.

“I’ll go,” Marlowe decided and went in the direction that Lyra had gone. The other three girls shrugged and followed the rest of the first years. The giant man that Lexa had seen announced himself as Hagrid, the Groundskeeper and keeper of keys at Hogwarts. He told them to keep close and not get lost as he started his way down a narrow road; it was very hard to see where to walk as it had gotten dark on their journey, and there were tall tress obscuring any light the moon could have offered. Thankfully Hagrid had a lamp that he lifted high so that everyone could just about see where they were going.

“What about the others?” Amriya asked as they followed the people in front of them. “Won’t they get lost?”

“Don’t worry about It, there at the back of the line, they’ve found Icky. They would try to get closer to us but the pathway is so slim they can’t.” Darcy answered quietly, for no one else was speaking, it seemed that everyone else wand wondering just what they would have to do to get to the magical school.

“Yeh’ll get yer firs’ sight o’ Hogwarts in a sec,” Hagrid announced as they cleared the last of the trees. Just around the corner stretched a giant black lake, and just across the lake stood Hogwarts. Although still small at the other end of the lake, the children let out a declaration of admiration. Even from here the castle looked old and grand perched atop a high mountain, with towers and turrets to be seen.

Hagrid declared that no more than four people were to be in one boat and pointed to a small collection of rickety old wooden boats. The girls gave each other dubious glances but went into a boat all the same; a blond girl called Hannah Abbot joined them. Hagrid called for the fleet to move forward and they did. The boats seemed to glide across the still water. It was an eerie moment as the castle got bigger and bigger; no-one seemed to have any words, everyone looked up at the castle with a growing sense of nerves, even Darcy started to look pale.

“Heads down” Called Horrid as the first set of boats reached the cliff, and the boats cleared the ivy and continued through a dark passageway until they reached an underground harbour. The children scrambled out of the boats and followed Hagrid up a passageway until they were finally outside of the huge oak doors.

“Everyone ready?”

Lexa looked back to see Marlowe and Lyra just behind them, Marlowe gave her a grim smile, Lexa didn’t know how it was possible but the girl seemed to have gone even paler than she had been on the train. Hagrid’s three big knocks on the door didn’t help either.

The doors opened.

*

As the doors opened the children could see a witch standing straight, looking over at them through her horn-rimmed glasses. As her glance landed on Lexa she looked down, feeling guilty even though she hadn’t done anything. Lexa knew that this would be one teacher who wouldn’t FIND Lexa’s tricks amusing. She thanked Hagrid for bringing them to her and told them to follow her. Lexa barely noticed the marble staircase, or the fact that you couldn’t see the castle’s celling because she could hear the voices of hundreds through a door to the right. She knew the rest of the school must be in there, and when she looked at Darcy for confirmation, the girl nodded.

The witch wasn’t leading them into the noisy hall however, but a small chamber near it. The students, there was roughly fourty of them, crowded into the room to hear what the witch had to say.

“Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor McGonagall,” she began, “The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seat in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.

“The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. Whilst you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, whilst any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

“The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting. I shall return when we are ready for you.”

As soon as she left the students erupted into chaos. Amriya and Marlowe seemed to be clutching each other to stop the other from fainting. Lexa looked to Darcy for reassurance but for once the blue haired girl looked as terrified as the rest of them.

“You don’t know? How can you not know?” Lexa asked, she noticed that a few of the other students were giving her weird looks, but Darcy had been right; most were too preoccupied with their fear to notice her yellow hair.

“I don’t know everything! My ability only works on those in the immediate area, and everyone is too scared for me to get anything out of McGonagall!” Darcy hissed. Lexa noticed that everyone else was looking towards those with magical parents but they looked just as scared as the rest, her own siblings had never told her that there might be a test. Nearby a bushy brown haired girl with large front teeth kept whispering about all the spells she knew and which ones might come in handy. Lyra told her to knock it off.

“We’re supposed to know how to do some spells already?” Amriya asked. “No-one told us about that, that’s not exactly fair on those who don’t have magical parents!”  
“Non-magical people are called muggles, and no, none of us can cast spells yet, or at least we’re not supposed to. Wizards and Witches aren’t allowed to cast spells outside of school until they turn seventeen.” Lyra explained. Before anyone had the chance to answer her McGonagall was back. Almost immediately silence ensued as everyone waited anxiously to hear what she would say next. She told them to form a line and follow her.

One by one they followed her; Amriya went first, followed by Lyra, Marlowe, Lexa and then Darcy. As they entered the Great Hall Lexa was struck by the sight of a thousand brightly lit candles, all of which were floating in mid-air. In the centre were four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. McGonagall led the first years there, so that they came to a stop in line with the table, forcing them to look at the other students.   
McGonagall placed a four-legged stool in front of them, and on top she placed an old wizard’s hat. Before Lexa could imagine what on Earth the hat could be used for the hat began to sing. Lexa stole a look at the others to make sure she hadn’t gone crazy, from the looks of their stunned faces, she hadn’t. She turned back to hear the hat’s song:

“Oh, you may not think I’m pretty,

But don’t judge on what you see,

I’ll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I’m the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There’s nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can’t see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet, in wise old Ravenclaw,

If you’ve a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You’ll make your real friends,

Those cunning folks use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don’t be afraid!

And don’t get in a flap!

You’re in safe hands (though I have none)

For I’m a Thinking Cap!

The whole room burst into applause when the hat finished and the first-years jointed them. Lexa had to admit that a rhyming self-aware hat really was amazing. Lexa’s good mood didn’t last very long as the applause died down and she realised that all eyes were once again on the first years. McGonagall stepped forward holding a long scroll.   
“When I call your name you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted. Abbot, Hannah!” She declared and the small blond haired girl that had shared a boat with them stepped forward to be sorted. She sat down and put the hat on and a moment later-

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

Hannah Abbot took the hat off and almost ran over to the table that was cheering; the table on the right. Lexa tried to keep her breathing under control as Susan Bones was also sorted into Hufflepuff. As Terry Boot, Mandy Brocklehurst, Lavender Brown and Millicent Bulstrode were all sorted Lexa realised a split second before McGonagall called her that she was next. With reassuring glances from the others she stepped forward and sat on the stool. The hat covered her vision as it came down and suddenly the room around her seemed to go silent.

“Hmm,” Said a small voice in her ear. “At first glance I’d say to put you in Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, I can see a lot of courage and loyalty in you. However, at the back of your mind, although you try to hide it, there is a thirst to prove yourself. You don’t want to be known by an ability you were born with, you wish for others to know you for your own accomplishments. Slytherin would help you there, yes very much so. Slytherin will make you great and help you to meet great friends as well. Very well then, my decision is SLYTHERIN!”

The Hat shouted, and as the hat was whipped off her head she realised that the last word had been announced to the whole Hall. She shakily walked over to the only cheering house. Once she sat down she realised that she was not in the same house as the rest of her family, who had all been in Ravenclaw. That was when a worse thought crept into her mind; what if the others weren’t in Slytherin? She knew many people hated or avoided those in the snake house because they thought Slytherins were all evil, but they weren’t, were they? She wasn’t evil, and if her friends were sorted into different houses would they even want to be friends anymore?

She was so worried that she almost missed Marlowe being called. She had expected her to be right after herself, but apparently she hadn’t been called. It was only when McGonagall called twice for “Gaunt, Marlowe” did her friend walk up to the hat, avoiding the looks of everyone. The Hall was almost silent except from a few confused whispers between the tables.

“Gaunt? But I thought they were all dead?”

“Wait, weren’t they descendants of-“

The last person was cut off as the hat was placed on Marlowe’s head, covering her strange eyes from everyone. Lexa frowned; she’d thought that Marlowe was a muggle born, so why were the students of the Slytherin table watching Marlowe with such rapt attention? Had she been lying?

**

When McGonagall called her name, she didn’t realise that it meant her; she had never been called a Gaunt before. She knew that was what her biological parents had been called due to Dumbledore explaining her heritage to her but she hadn’t thought about it much. She had told Lyra about it as they looked for Icky but all Lyra could tell her was that it was an old house which the Slytherins prized. She hadn’t understood what the girl had meant, but as she walked over to the stool she couldn’t help but notice the almost hungry looks that some of the Slytherin’s were giving her; nor of the suspicious and almost angry looks of the other tables.

She was grateful when the hat was placed over her eyes and she was enveloped in darkness and quiet. “So, one of Slytherin’s are you? Haven’t had a direct descendent of that old snake for many, many years.” The voice mused.

“You’re not going to put me in Slytherin because of that are you?” Marlowe whispered back. She could have sworn the hat laughed at her, though it made no sound.

“Not at all my dear, not at all. Now, let’s see what we have here. Hmm, a lot of fear I see, also the bravery that comes from facing so much…and yet there is such a strong desire to protect those who claim to love you, but that’s not your only desire, is it?” The hat whispered knowingly.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Marlowe whispered back, it almost worked but she could feel the blood rushing to her face.

“No? I’m afraid you can’t hide anything from me. I know that your desire to protect is so strong that you do not care what it takes to keep them safe. I know you don’t want to be weak; I know you want to get back at those who have hurt you, have abandoned you and show them you’re power. You want to make them feel powerless don’t you?”

“No! I just want to protect Abbey and Connor! Maybe even my new friends, I don’t know…I just feel so weak all the time. So yes, if I can have power I want it, but not to hurt people! I want to protect, not harm.”

“Slytherin will help you find that power; they will not judge you for the darkness that lies in your past either.”

“Then them, I mean yes.”

“Then I choose…SLYTHERIN!”

**

Darcy watched as Marlowe sat down next to Lexa. When her name had been announced Darcy noticed the excitement of the older students. Her curiosity was overwhelming and for a few minutes she forgot her nerves. As she read a few people’s thoughts she quickly realised why the Slytherin table was so excited, and why they were overjoyed when Marlowe was put into Slytherin. She was supposedly the last of an old wizarding family called the Gaunts. Not only did that mean Marlowe was a descendent of the founder of Slytherin’s house, it also meant something else. She was related to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Darcy’s stomach sunk, she had stories from her parents about the reign of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, terrible stories filled with fear and death; and now people would know that Marlowe was related to him. Darcy knew that Marlowe knew nothing of her parentage, she suddenly felt angry, how could no-one tell her that she was related to the darkest, or second darkest depending on whom you asked, wizard of all time? Not only did that mean that some dark wizards would try to use her or believe that she was the new Dark Lord, it also meant that most of the wizarding world would shun her because of her blood.

And Marlowe would never truly understand why.

She glanced at Amriya and Lyra and noticed Lyra’s knowing look at her. So, she knew too, Darcy thought bitterly. Marlowe must’ve told her about her family name and Lyra hadn’t told her. Maybe she didn’t know the connection, it was possible. Regardless, this was not the time for it. She leaned over to the two of them.

“Look, all three of us know that something’s going on with Marlowe, no don’t talk,” She ordered when Amriya went to speak. "What’s important is that we don’t abandon her. Or Lexa. It’s highly unlikely that we will all be in the same house, so we have to swear. The both of them are going to need friends outside of Slytherin, and we all know that Marlowe isn’t like He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. At least not yet, not if we help her. Agreed?” Both of them nodded their heads and Darcy looked back at Marlowe just before “Olivander, Darcy” was called.

As she walked forward she saw the Ravenclaws look over at her with interest. She understood. It had been her cousin that had probably supplied everyone here with their wands. A lot was expected from someone of her family. As soon as the hat went down she told the hat what she wanted.

“And why Ravenclaw?”

“It’s not because my family have all been in Ravenclaw, it’s because I want to be the first to unlock the mysteries of the past. I can’t do that without learning, and I intend to do just that. Isn’t that what Ravenclaw is all about?” Darcy demanded, refusing to be talked down.

“Doesn’t that show bravery, not many people demand to be placed into a certain house? And you’re willingness to work hard is a trait Hufflepuff prized.”

“I know that. I also know that you placed my cousin into Ravenclaw house because of his ambition to be the best wand maker in history. I have similar goals, and I understand that I need the knowledge and experience to achieve my goal.”

“Well, you seem to know exactly what you want, my dear. I would advise you to remember that just because you can look into the minds of others, that it does not necessarily mean, you know your own mind as well.” The hat advised. Before Darcy had a chance to ask what the Hat meant, it had already announced Ravenclaw as her house.

**

As soon as Darcy sat down at the Ravenclaw table Amriya turned to Lyra and asked her what she knew. Lyra sighed and explained that the Gaunt family had been thought dead by the magical community, and that no-one was especially sad about it because they were renowned muggle haters and were obsessed with the ‘pure-blood’ line. However, Lyra explained, that wasn’t why Darcy had been worried. About two decades ago a dark wizard came to power and terrorised the magical and non-magical community. He did terrible things and murdered anyone who stood in his way, it was said that only Dumbledore could stand up to him. When all was thought lost He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named suddenly vanished at the height of his power. It turned out that He-Who-Must-Not-Named had convinced himself that a baby boy was fated to kill him, so he had taken himself to kill the baby as well. When he went to the baby’s home he quickly killed the parents and cast the killing curse on the baby. What happened next was harder to explain, as no-one understood it. Both Harry Potter, the baby, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named died that night, although there were still some who thought he was alive.

“So what does this have to Marlowe?” Amriya asked, confused.

“Well, a few people are convinced that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was also part of the Gaunt family, although it was never confirmed as no-one knew what his original name was. So, even though it’s still a rumour, people will be wary of her.”

“Oh,” Amriya replied, head deep in thought. If Marlowe was related to a dark wizard than maybe the Dream made a bit more sense. Suddenly Marlowe killing someone seemed a lot more feasible than it had ten minutes ago.

No, don’t be stupid, Amriya thought to herself, just because she might be related to someone who was evil, doesn’t mean she is. Anyone could be pushed to murder, and she wasn’t even sure that it had been Marlowe who had cast the spell that ended the old man’s life in the Dream. There could be any of a thousand explanations, so she shouldn’t jump to the easiest one.

“Sayre, Amriya!”

As Amriya walked over to the Hat she locked eyes with Darcy, who was watching her intently.

Look, she thought, trying to direct her thoughts to Darcy. I don’t know if you know of the Dream but I can explain. Once we get some free time we should meet up and I’ll explain it better. Don’t tell anyone else about it just yet, we don’t want the others, Marlowe especially, to freak.

Amriya sat down on the stool and just before the hat covered her eyes she saw Darcy’s answering nod.

“Well now, what’s this? A seer eh? Haven’t had one of those in a while. And look, already so brave. So ready to face what your visions show you…there is much about you that you don’t know yet. But you will, in time. I bet you will surprise yourself. As for now, better be…Gryffindor!”

Slightly disappointed at not being in a house with any of her friends, she trudged over to the Gryffindor table, which was certainly the loudest of the tables.

Great, Amriya thought bitterly, I can see me getting a lot of sleep with this lot.

**

As she made her way through the throngs of students and back onto the train Lyra felt an arm tug at her sleeve. She turned around to see Marlowe staring up at her.

“I thought I’d help you. Another pair of eyes will speed up the search, right?”

“Yeah, I suppose so. Thanks,” Lyra replied as they stepped back onto the train. Even though she was looking for Icky she couldn’t help but notice the other girl struggling with herself. “Something the matter, Marlowe?” She asked, as kindly as she could.

“You come from a family of wizards and witches, right?”

“Uhh, yeah I am. My mum was a muggle thought and my father was a wizard. Makes me a half-blood but I grew up in a magical house-hold, why?” Lyra asked slowly, not wanting to give too much away. Marlowe bit her thumb before answering.

“If I tell you something, can you keep it too yourself? I wouldn’t ask, but I think you’re the best person to ask, I suppose you’ve just got one of those faces that look trustworthy.” Marlowe tried to joke, but her mismatched eyes were too full of worry for the joke to work. Lyra swore that she wouldn’t tell anyone who didn’t already know.

“Well, it’s just I didn’t know that I was a witch before this, right? I was raised in a few different places, all of them normal. It’s just that when Dumbledore came and told my family and I that I was magical he explained that my birth name belonged to an old wizarding family, but that I didn’t have any surviving family members or any money.”

“Ok, not sure what the big secret is.”

“When Dumbledore told me my original family’s name I asked if there were any photos of my family before they died. He told me he didn’t own any, but he’d try and look, and as far as he knew, no-one else would have any either. It struck me as odd, how can there be no photos of either of my parents? So I think he was keeping something from me, and I’d rather know before everyone else does. Apparently, my biological name was Marlowe Gaunt.”.

Lyra tried to keep the surprise from her face but she knew she had failed. A Gaunt? Well, that certainly blew her secret out of the water. No-one would care if she was the daughter of someone in Azkaban when there was a living Gaunt about. No, Lyra thought to herself, no-one would give her a second glance. She was suddenly very grateful that Tonks had bumped into Lexa at the train station.

“Well, it’s a very old name, but people might not remember it because it’s so old. Some will, and I suppose you’d better know that the Gaunts were known for being one of the few direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts. So, you’ll probably be sorted into that house, and I guess a few people will probably be expecting good things from you, but don’t worry. It’s just a name after all, and you count yourself as a Cutter, don’t you?” Lyra tried to reassure her. Marlowe nodded and smiled.   
“Did you ask for your name to be changed to Cutter? Because the school will probably refer to you as a Gaunt.” Lyra asked as she turned back to search for her missing toad.

“No, I didn’t know you could do that. Oh, here he is. I found Icky.”

Neither did I, Lyra thought to herself as they ran to catch up to the others. I just had the foresight to ask when her acceptance letter had come.

Suddenly Lyra was very glad that Darcy wasn’t around.

-

As she watched Amriya sit down at the Gryffindor table she realised that it would most likely be three of them in Slytherin, after all, how could she not be? Her father being who he was. She waited patiently as others were called to be sorted. Tonks would probably be disappointed, so with her Andromeda, Lyra’s guardian that had never asked to be called ‘mum’. Her and Ted had taken her in and she had been very thankful, there had been many nights when she had wished that she had been born to the Tonks’ family rather than her own, but she also knew that crying wouldn’t change that. All she could do was to do well at school and get a good job to repay the Tonks’ for their kindness. Maybe she’d be an Auror with Tonks, surely she wouldn’t mind if Lyra was in Slytherin?

“Tonks, Lyra.”

She didn’t get a big reaction like Marlowe or Darcy; even Amriya had some of the teachers looking up with interest, and Lexa’s hair had been bright enough to get the attention of the younger years at least. But no-one paid much attention as the hat went on her head, but Lyra wasn’t envious, she wanted to stay out of the limelight as much as possible.

“A worrywart are you?” Mused the voice by her ear. “Worry a lot, don’t you? It’s not that big of a deal, you’re little secret, but I suppose you’ll find that out in time. For the moment let’s look inside that head of yours.”

“I suppose I’ll be in Slytherin.”

“What gave you that idea?”

“Well, my father-“

“Is not the one I’m sat on now, you are. Just so you know you are nothing like your father. He wanted power, he wanted to be great. You want to make your family proud and to show them that they were not wrong to bring you up. No, Slytherin would not be the house for you in the end, I think. I think the house for you would be HUFFLEPUFF.”

When the Hat was lifted Lyra remained sitting out of shock. She had been so sure…Tonks would be so happy…maybe trying to be different from her father would not be as hard as she imagined. No, she thought as she sat down at the Hufflepuff table next to Hannah Abbott. She would make sure that the two of them would be better than their ancestors, and she would never give up on her friends, just as Tonks had never given up on her.


End file.
